BABIANA PATERSONIAE

This member of the Iridaceae family was described by Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus in 1931. It is found in South Africa, growing in the heights of the southern mountains in clay with some water and lots of sun. The flowers are pale blue with some yellow.

The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon, Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus. The species name for Mrs. Florence M. Paterson, 1869-1936, a South African amateur naturalist. Wild plants from the Grootriverhoogte Pass.